This Just In: Sky Not Falling In Somerville
Written by Boston Biker on Apr 23Judging from some of the comments on the post where I mentioned that Somerville cops are going to have a couple targeted bike enforcement days (something by the way Boston and especially Cambridge have been doing for a long time), you would think that the entire fabric of our reality is tearing itself apart. But guess what, it was fine.
Somerville Police handed out more than 40 tickets to bicyclists caught breezing through red lights, cruising on sidewalks, and riding against traffic on two recent enforcement days, the department said. The crackdown is expected to continue, said Sergeant Sean Sheehan. Three more days of targeted enforcement are planned, Sheehan said, but he wouldn’t give away the dates.”Generally what the department wants to do is to get some feedback and see how its working, if people are following the rules a little more,” Sheehan said. The fines are for $20 for most infractions, which were mostly for cyclists who ran red lights, he said.
Ohhh sweet Jesus on a raft, 20 dollars! For doing something you shouldn’t be doing anyway! Tell it on the mountain I have seen the end times and they are tiny tickets and warnings… clearly I am being silly. This is exactly the kind of thing we should be pushing for as a cycling community.
When a person (especially cops) looks at the road and sees cyclists I want her to think “here is someone who belongs on this street, they deserve all the same protections and have all the same responsibilities as any other road user.” Following the rules normalizes cycling as a form of transportation. And having cyclists follow those rules (and be held accountable for not following them) is a good thing.
Pointing your finger at cars and going “but but but what about them” doesn’t change anything I have written. Cars can need more enforcement and cyclists should follow the rules. Both of those things can be true at the same time. In fact they are true. Somerville cops give out tickets to motorists every day. Hopefully in the future they can place themselves at intersections and give out failure to yield, and bad right turn, and not stopping at red light tickets. This sort of targeted enforcement could go a long way towards protecting other road user groups, like cyclists and pedestrians.
There is no evidence that I can see that shows that any local police officer are systematically enforcing laws harder on one group of road users, in fact I would have to admit that for a long time cyclists could do just about anything and there was nothing the cops could do about it. Welcome to acceptance people, where we get to use the roads and be treated like other road users, and we have to follow the rules.
Thanks Ron for the tip.
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By StillFedUp
on Apr 23, 2012 | Reply
Stop casting this as “cyclists are pissed the law is being enforced for them.” It’s about PRIORITIES.
1)Police resources are a finite resource, and police have a history of blaming cyclists for collisions, not charging drivers, etc.
2)Motor vehicle drivers are the ones dooring, hooking, and otherwise crashing into, bicyclists and putting them in the hospital and/or killing them. MOTOR VEHICLES ARE MORE DANGEROUS and there are FAR MORE OF THEM. They are a threat to ALL users of the road – bicyclists are not. Which matters more? A 2 ton vehicle flying through a red light at 30mph? Or a bicyclist who waits for a pause in the traffic and crosses at 5mph, placing only themselves in danger?
3)Enforcement needs to be on the more dangerous threat to public health and safety.
4)The myth that cyclists are responsible for the majority of their injuries needs to END because it is a MYTH, yet all this action does is perpetuate the public perception that those pesky cyclists keep getting hit/run over because of things they do, not because of what’s done to them.
Europe recognizes bicyclists as vulnerable users. Multiple US states have allowed cyclists to pause or run a red light or stopsign, something cyclists the world over do anyway. If they get hit while doing so, that’s one thing – but wasting police time on victimless crimes that put nobody at risk save the perp is idiotic.
By Aaron
on Apr 23, 2012 | Reply
Quick note to “StillFedUp”: If you don’t like the rules, work to change them. The police should enforce all the laws as they are written, not at their convenience, etc.
Cyclists may indeed be more vulnerable than drivers, but don’t pretend there are no possible consequences or victims to running a red light as a cyclist or pedestrian. If they get hit and killed by a car (who was following the law), there *is* an effect on the driver, for example.
By crankycoffey
on Apr 23, 2012 | Reply
Thank you!